JULY 30: Offering Mass In Remembrance of Our Father

Our dearly departed father was a devotee of Santa Rosa de Lima. To honor the anniversary of his death this July 30,  we are offering masses on that day in 3 churches named after this beloved saint:  1 in Laguna, 1 in Albay and 1 in Cam Sur.  

Who is Santa Rosa de Lima? She is the first person born in the Western Hemisphere to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.  She is the patron saint of Peru and all of South America as well as embroiderers, gardeners and florists.

To know more about the saint, I researched from Britannica    and  the website of a college named after her. Here is what I learned. 

Born Isabel Flores de Olivia in Lima, Peru, on April 20, 1586, she received the nickname "Rose" because a servant had allegedly seen her face turn into a rose in a vision (she officially took the name Rosa at her confirmation in 1597).  Known for her exceptional beauty, Rosa aspired to become a nun, but her parents pressured her to marry. To deter potential suitors, Rosa cut her hair short and burned her face.  She performed secret and often painful penances, fasted multiple times weekly, and permanently abstained from eating meat. 

Finally acceding to Rosa's wish to take a vow of chastity, her father relented and provided her with a room to herself, where she spent hours in prayer and was said to sleep only two hours a night so as to have more time for prayer.  She brougth sick and hungry individuals to her room to care for them, sold her needlework and flowers she had grown to help her family, and made and sold lace and embroidery to support the poor. 

At age 20, she joined the Third Order of St. Dominic as a lay member, and continued fasting and performing self-imposed penances.  Rose wore a heavy silver crown with spikes facing inward to remind herself of Jesus's crown of thorns. 

She died in Aug 24, 1617 at the age of 31, and her funeral was a major event in the city of Lima. The Catholic Church says that many miracles followed her death:  there were stories that she had cured a leper, and that, at the time of her death, the city of Lima smelled like roses; roses also started falling from the sky. Saint Rose was beatified in 1667  by Pope Clement IX; she was canonized in 1671 by Pope Clement X, who proclaimed her patron saint of South America.

The virtues of Santa Rosa de Lima are  humility, charity, prayer and excessive penance.  

How do I honor the life of our father on the anniversary of his death?  That was the question in my mind as July 30 approached. Since he was a devotee of Santa Rosa de Lima, the idea came to me to offer a mass in the churches named after the beloved saint. 

I googled to check where these churches are.  Turns out there are more than a handful in Luzon.   There is one in Laguna.  I talked to my son to plan out when  we will visit this church so that we can offer a mass for July 30 in remembrance of my father.   There are at least 2 churches in Bicol: one in Bacacay, Albay  and one in Pili, Camarines Sur. I requested a running friend based in Albay to help me with the church  in his province and for the one in Pili, I requested my sister to visit it.   

Sta, Rosa de Lima Parish Church, Sta. Rosa, Laguna

The first church we visited was the one in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.  We visited July 20, it was was a  non working holiday that day.  From Paranaque and via the South Superhighway, it took me less than 30 minutes to reach the Santa Rosa exit of the  highway and another 20 minutes to navigate the smaller streets inside the city to reach the plaza where the church was located.  

The church in Sta. Rosa, Laguna is an old one. It dates back to the 19th century.  It is made of  solid adobe stones with lime and mortar mixed with albumin, the church was constructed in 1796 and blessed on August 4, 1812.  

Facade of the Sta. Rosa de Lima parish church in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.  

The bell tower has eight big bells. Each bell is identified with a saint:  Sta. Rosa de Lima; Santa Barbara; Santissimo Sacramento; San Juan Bautista; San Jose; Santa Cecilia; Santo Domingo de Guzman; and Nino Jesus.   

The altar. 

The ceiling of the church dome. 

The side altar with a statue of Sta. Rosa de Lima.  

Flowers are ever present with Sta. Rosa de Lima. 

 Sta. Rosa de Lima Parish Church, Bacacay, Albay

There is a Sta. Rosa de Lima church in Bacacay, Albay. I inquired from my running friend Doods Gigantoca  if he knows a fellow runner from the town of Bacacay which is roughly 37 kilometers away from Legazpi City where he is based. He said none but he has an officemate, Benedict Quiambao,  who is from Bacacay.  I made the request if his officemate can arrange to the parish church in Bacacay so that the mass for July 30 can be offered.  They  readily said yes. 

The church is one of the oldest structures in the town of  Bacacay. It was  built in 1660 although the present structure is probably built around the 1800s.  I requested for photos of the church and these are what Doods sent.  

    

The Sta Rosa de Lima parish church is located in the poblacion in Bacacay. 

The church is a sturdy one built to survive the typhoon winds that visits Bicol frequently.  

The altar.

Statue of Sta. Rosa de Lima in Bacacay.  

Sta. Rosa de Lima Parish Church,  Pili, Camarines Sur

Unlike the Sta Rosa de Lima churches in Laguna and Albay, the one in Pili is a fairly new one.  Started  in the early 2000s, the church was officially blessed and  dedicated in 2019.  It is located  along the national road in the barangay of Anayan in Pili. 

My sister Caroline visited it this weekend to offer mass on July 30 for our dearly departed father. Here are the photos she sent me.    

 

The entrance. In front of the church is the "tuntunan" or patio.  

The facade

The altar

Banner  of Sta. Rosa de Lima  

The marker 

It is written by some that an anniversary of a loved ones'  death is always tough.  The pain of a loss never fully goes and is often at it's most vivid on days like anniversaries. But while for some it's a day that brings back unwanted grief, for others it is a chance to celebrate the life of the departed loved one.  

In remembrance of our father's passing, we honor his life by offering mass in the church of his beloved saint.   We offer prayers and remember the good things he has done.   

Your memory will live long in our hearts and in our deeds daddy.  Rest in peace.